The 14 postcode areas with no Covid deaths in England and Wales

Just 14 postcode areas have recorded zero Covid deaths in England and Wales since the start of the pandemic.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released a report with an interactive map showing a breakdown of fatalities linked to the virus across the countries’ 7,201 neighbourhoods between March 2020 and April 2021.

The figures reveal there were just 13 areas in England and one in Wales where no deaths due to Covid-19 - where coronavirus was the main cause of death - were reported.

Most of these were in the southwest of England, including parts of Cornwall and Devon.

Some were in built-up areas, including Bristol city centre and Leeds city centre, while one area of Manchester also recorded zero Covid deaths.

The full list of the 14 areas is as follows:

Bristol City Centre, Bristol

Hartcliffe, Bristol

Mid Saltash, Cornwall

Torpoint, Cornwall

Dunkesewell, Upottery and Stockland, East Devon

Isles of Scilly, Isles of Scilly

Leeds City Centre, Leeds

Castlefield and Deansgate, Manchester

Barnstaple Sticklepath, North Devon

Weston Winterstoke, North Somerset

Tamerton Foliot, Plymouth

Eynsham & Stanton Harcourt, West Oxfordshire

Dunster, Dulverton and Exmoor, West Somerset

Llandudno Junction South and Llasanffraid Glan Conwy, Conwy

There were also about 200 neighbourhoods where the number of deaths between March and July 2020 was at least double what would normally have been expected, the report shows.

These included Crabtree and Fir Vale in Sheffield, which had the largest excess, with 123 deaths between March and July 2020, 77 more than the average of 46, an excess of 167 per cent.

From September 2020, total deaths registered in England and Wales remained above average for about six months.

Overall, the northwest, London and northeast had the highest Covid-19 mortality rates in 2020.

According to the ONS, urban areas suffered the most during the first peak in April 2020, while the country was in the middle of the first national lockdown.

Urban centres in London, Birmingham, the north of England and South Wales had the highest rates of deaths due to any cause at this time.

The national statistics body said there were many reasons why certain communities experienced high death rates, with more Covid deaths in the most deprived areas of England and Wales than in the least deprived areas.

There were also higher death rates among some ethnic minority groups as well as in males and those with pre-existing health conditions.

There have also been higher death rates among people with jobs with regular exposure to Covid-19.

Although overall deaths in England and Wales reduced during the summer of 2020, in some areas of northern England, such as Tameside and Blackburn with Darwen, mortality rates were higher than normal.

The autumn and winter of 2020 saw mortality rates peak in different local areas in different months, the report shows.

In November 2020, death rates were highest in Rochdale and Blaenau Gwent and in December 2020 parts of Lincolnshire such as Lincoln and Boston recorded their highest mortality rates of the pandemic.

As 2021 began with a third national lockdown, there were many areas in both England and Wales with high mortality rates; with the area from Essex to east London to East Sussex suffering due to the spread of the Alpha Covid variant, first identified in Kent.

In January 2021, the mortality rate in England was highest in Barking and Dagenham. In Wales, the highest was in Bridgend.

On average, overall mortality rates in England and Wales declined in February 2021, although in some areas they were only reaching their peak.

These areas included Copeland, Great Yarmouth, Bolsover and Norwich. In March 2021, Blackpool had the highest age-standardised mortality rates in England and Wales, but this was below its April 2020 peak.

Since March 2021, deaths in England and Wales returned to average or near to average for the time of year, although deaths due to Covid increased again in July.